Portable communication apparatus

ABSTRACT

A portable communication apparatus includes arrow keys for moving a highlight bar to select one of a plurality of information items displayed on screen and an Enter key for executing a selected information item. The arrow keys and the Enter key are disposed close to each other within one area on the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable communication apparatus suchas a portable telephone or the like, and relates, more particularly, toa portable communication apparatus having a function for displayingoptions to be selected on a display.

2. Description of Related Art

There have been proposed portable telephones having a selection meansfor selecting a desired one from various information items displayed ona display such as a liquid-crystal display or the like.

For example, a compact portable radio telephone apparatus disclosed inJapanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-29426 isprovided with a scroll key for scrolling information on screen and ENTERkeys disposed at positions corresponding to displayed options,respectively. And a user can select a necessary option from thedisplayed options by depressing the corresponding ENTER key.

Further, a portable telephone disclosed in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-open Publication No. 6-338931 is provided with a table in whichdial numbers are registered and the user can select a registered dialnumber to display it on screen by depressing keys on a keypad that ischanged into an abbreviated dialing mode. Thereafter, the user can makea call according to the selected dial number by depressing a callingkey.

However, according to the above-described conventional telephoneapparatuses, key operation is complex and a dialing procedure iscumbersome particularly in the case of dialing numbers used frequently.Thus, it has been necessary for the user to depress keys by movingfingers repeatedly. In the case of the above-described apparatus usingthe scroll key and ENTER keys to select a desired option, it isnecessary to select it by moving a finger to the corresponding ENTERbutton each time the desired option is displayed by scrolling. Thereason is that the ENTER buttons are disposed at preset positions underthe display screen.

Further, according to the other method of selecting a registered numberby changing the key operation into an abbreviated dialing mode, it isnot only necessary to change the key operation into the abbreviateddialing mode but also to search for a desired telephone number throughkey operation in the abbreviated dialing mode. Further, a calling keyoperation is additionally required for dialing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a portablecommunication apparatus that enables a user to select a desired one frominformation items displayed on a display by simplified key operation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a portablecommunication apparatus that enables a user to easily select a desireddial number and to make a call in a simple manner.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a portablecommunication apparatus has a display and a keypad on a main side of ahousing thereof, wherein the keypad includes a key section comprising atleast one key which is used to select a desired information item from aplurality of information items displayed in the display and then toexecute a selected information item. Since selection and execution of adesired information item can be performed by the key section only, theoperability of selection and execution is improved.

According to another aspect of the invention, a portable communicationapparatus has a display and a keypad on a main side of a housingthereof, the keypad comprising two key sections which are separatelyprovided on the main side, wherein a predetermined one of the two keysections comprises a plurality of key contacts which are used to selecta desired information item from a plurality of information itemsdisplayed in the display and then to execute a selected informationitem.

Since selection and execution of a desired information item can beperformed by the predetermined key section only, the operability ofselection and execution is improved. Further, since the predeterminedkey section is disposed with a space from the other key section, thekeypad operability is further improved.

Further, according to still another aspect of the invention, a portablecommunication apparatus has a display and a keypad on a main side of ahousing thereof, the keypad comprising a first key section and a secondkey section which are separately provided on the main side, wherein thefirst key section comprises a plurality of key contacts which are usedto select a desired information item from a plurality of informationitems displayed in the display and then to execute a selectedinformation item; and the second key section comprises a ten-key pad.The portable communication apparatus further comprises a memory forstoring a plurality of names and destination addresses corresponding tothe names and a controller for selecting a desired name and adestination address corresponding to the desired name and executing acalling operation according to the destination address of the desiredname according to a series of operations of the first key section.

Since selection and execution of a calling operation according to thedesired destination address are performed in the first key sectionwithin the keypad, the calling operation is facilitated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for showing an appearance of a portabletelephone as a first embodiment of a portable communication apparatusaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram for showing an internal circuitstructure of the present embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for showing one example of a calling operation inthe present embodiment;

FIGS. 4A-4E are views for showing examples of display corresponding tothe calling operation as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for showing one example of a menu displayoperation in the present embodiment;

FIGS. 6A-6B are views for showing examples of display corresponding tothe menu display operation;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for showing an appearance of a portabletelephone as a second embodiment of a portable communication apparatusaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view showing the inner structure of a leverswitch used in the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 8B is a plan view showing an arrangement of switch contacts in thelever switch as shown in FIG. 8A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a main body 100 of the portable telephone isprovided with a display 101 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and akeypad 102 having a layout of various keys. The display 101 and thekeypad 102 are provided in a main surface of a housing of the main body100.

The keypad 102 is comprised of a first part and a second part. The firstpart consists of arrow keys 103 and an Enter key 104 and a second partconsists of a menu key 105 and other keys including a ten-key pad. Aspeaker 106 is disposed as a telephone receiver at an upper portion ofthe main body 100 and a microphone 107 is disposed as a telephonetransmitter at a lower portion of the main body 100. Further, an antenna108 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 100 and a batterypack 109 is detachably provided on the rear surface of the main body100.

In the first part of the keypad 102, four arrow keys 103 correspondingto up, down, left and right directions are disposed to surround theEnter key 104. In the main body 100, a center key contact correspondingto the Enter key 104 and four key contacts corresponding to the fourarrow keys 103 are provided with the center key contact surrounded bythe four key contacts. By selectively depressing the arrow keys 103, ahighlight bar displayed in the display 101 can be moved horizontally andvertically on the screen, that is, in up, down, left and rightdirections, as described later. An information item positioned by thehighlight bar is selected and executed by pressing the Enter key 104.For example, a calling is made or a menu item is carried out. The Enterkey 104 can also function as a normal calling key.

A user moves the highlight bar to a desired information item displayedon the display 101 by selectively operating the up, down, left and rightarrow keys 103, with a thumb, for example. When the Enter key 104 at thecenter is depressed with the same thumb immediately after the highlightbar has reached the desired information item, an operation correspondingto the desired information item can be executed. In other words, it ispossible to carry out the necessary operation by just placing the fingerat the first part of the keypad 102 without moving the finger to a longdistance.

Although the four arrow keys 103 are used to move the highlight bar onthe display 101 in the four directions of up, down, left and rightdirections in this case, it is also possible to provide only two arrowkeys to move the highlight bar in only two directions of left and rightor up and down directions. The number of the arrow keys 103 can bedetermined according to the volume of information that can be displayedin the display 101 of the telephone. For example, if the display 101 candisplay only about one to three names of destinations in a telephonedirectory function, only two arrow keys 103 are sufficient to search fora desired telephone number in two directions.

Further, according to the present embodiment, a spacing between thefirst part and the second part of the keypad 102 causes movement andenter operations by the arrow keys 103 and Enter key 104 of the firstpart to be made easier. It is also possible to form the first part andthe second part within one area of the keypad 102 so long as theeasiness of operation is not lost. It is needless to mention that evenin this case the arrow keys 103 and the Enter key 104 are disposed closeto each other as the first part.

Referring to FIG. 2, inside the main body 100 of the portable telephone,there are built a transceiver 201, a channel controller 202, a speechprocessor 203 and a microprocessor (CPU) 204 which provide a radiotelephone function. The antenna 108 is connected to the transceiver 201,and the microphone 107 and the speaker 106 as a telephone transmitterand a telephone receiver respectively are connected to the speechprocessor 203. The LCD display 101 is connected to an LCD controller 205which is controlled by the microprocessor 204, and various kinds of keyoperation signals of the keypad 102 are input to the microprocessor 204through an input controller 206. In the present embodiment, there isprovided a directory memory 207 storing registered names and telephonenumbers of persons to communicate with, and these names and telephonenumbers are read and written under the control of the microprocessor204. The operation of the present embodiment will be explained in detailwith reference to examples shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4A-4E, it is assumed that the Enter key104 also has a function of a normal calling function, that is,registered names or a set of registered names and telephone numbers aredisplayed on the display 101 by operating the Enter key 104.

At first, when the microprocessor 204 is in a waiting status (YES atstep S301) and also when a key operation is not carried out (NO at stepS302), date and time information as shown in FIG. 4A is being displayedin the display 101.

When the Enter key 104 is depressed in this waiting status (YES at stepS302), the microprocessor 204 reads out data from the directory memory207 (step S303) and displays a plurality of names arranged in analphabetical order, with the highlight bar at an initial position, inthe display 101 (step S304).

For example, names starting from ‘A’ (Japanese alphabet) are displayedin the left column of the display 101: Ando, Ikeda, Itoh, Ueno, Okada,and so on. Names starting from ‘Ka’ (Japanese alphabet) are displayed inthe middle column: Kudoh and Koike. Names starting from ‘Sa’ (Japanesealphabet) are displayed in the right column: Sasaki, Sakai, Satoh,Shimada and so on, as shown in FIG. 4B.

In English, similarly, names may be displayed in the display 101 withstarting from letter A on the left column, names starting from letter Bin the middle column and names starting from letter C in the rightcolumn.

A highlight bar 401 inversely displays the highlighted name, with a leftcolumn top name initially highlighted, and a telephone numbercorresponding to the highlighted name is displayed always at the bottomrow on screen.

Then, when one of the arrow keys 103 is depressed (YES at step S305),the highlight bar 401 moves in a direction of the depressed arrow key103 (step S306). For example, when the arrow key 103 indicating the downdirection is depressed two times, the highlight bar 401 moves to “Itoh”two rows below “Ando” and a telephone number of “Itoh” is displayed atthe bottom row as shown in FIG. 4C.

In the case of English names arranged in alphabetical order on screen,for example, Anderson, Ando, Annice, and Arward, “Anderson” is initiallyhighlighted. And when the arrow key 103 indicating the down direction isdepressed two times, the highlight bar 401 moves to “Annice” two rowsbelow “Anderson” and a telephone number of “Annice” is displayed at thebottom row on screen.

When the highlight bar 401 moves in up, down, left and right directionswithin the current display area of the display 101 (NO at step S307),only the highlight bar 401 moves according to operations of the arrowkeys 103 (steps S305 to S307).

When the highlight bar 401 moves to the outside of the current displayarea of the display 101 (YES at step S307), the microprocessor 204scrolls the display screen of the display 101 so as to display hiddendata by the arrow keys 103 (step S308). In this way, the highlight barmoves to the name which is at a location determined by direction andnumber of depressing of the arrow key 103. For example, when the arrowkey 103 of the down direction is depressed by further four times, thedisplay data in the column of names starting from Japanese alphabet ‘A’is scrolled down to move the highlight bar 401 from the position of“Itoh” to “Okada”, a fourth name below “Itoh”, as shown in FIG. 4D. Inthis embodiment, only the display data of the column in which thehighlight bar 401 is located is scrolled, allowing easy operation incase of searching other columns.

On the other hand, when the arrow key 103 of the right direction isdepressed three times in the state that the highlight bar 401 is at theinitial position, the display data is scrolled in the right direction atthe third time of depressing the arrow key, and the highlight bar 401moves from “Ando” to “Takada”, a third name to the right, as shown inFIG. 4E.

After moving the highlight bar 401 to a name to whom a user intends tomake a call by operating the arrow keys 103, the user depresses theEnter key 104 surrounded by the arrow keys 103 (YES at step S305). Then,the microprocessor 204 starts a calling operation by using a telephonenumber corresponding to the selected name (step S309).

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIGS. 6A-6B, when the menu key 105 is depressedin a waiting status (step S302 in FIG. 3), the microprocessor 204 makesa predetermined list of functions displayed in the display 101 (stepS501). For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, functions such as “Sound levelof incoming call”, “Mail setting”, etc. are displayed, with thehighlight bar 401 at the top initial position.

When any one of the arrow keys 103 is depressed (YES at step S502), thehighlight bar 401 moves in the direction of the depressed arrow key 103(step S503). For example, when the arrow key 103 of the down directionis depressed two times, the highlight bar 401 moves to “Vibrator”, twonames below “Sound level of incoming call”. When the highlight bar 401moves within the current display area of the display 101 (NO at stepS504), only the highlight bar 401 moves according to the depressing ofthe arrow keys 103 (steps S502 to S504).

When the highlight bar 401 moves to the outside of the current displayarea of the display 101 (YES at step S504), the microprocessor 204scrolls the display screen of the display 101 so as to display hiddenfunction items by the arrow keys 103 (step S505). In this way, thehighlight bar moves to the function item which is at a locationdetermined by direction and number of depressing of the arrow key 103.For example, when the arrow key 103 of the down direction is depressedby six times, the displayed items are scrolled and the highlight bar 401moves from “Sound level of incoming call” to “Initial setting”, a sixthname below, as shown in FIG. 6B.

After moving the highlight bar 401 to a desired function item byoperating the arrow keys 103, a user depresses the Enter key 104surrounded by the arrow keys 103 (YES at step S502). Then, themicroprocessor 204 executes the selected function (step S506).

Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a second embodiment of the presentinvention. In the present embodiment, a keypad 102 also has a first partand a second part. However, the structure of the first part is differentfrom that of the first embodiment with all the other structural elementsbeing the same as those of the first embodiment and thus their detailedexplanation will be omitted with denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the first part of the keypad 102, a stick lever 601 is providedinstead of the arrow keys 103. The stick lever 601 is a switch havingcontacts in four directions of up, down, left and right directions asdescribed in detail later. By inclining the stick lever 601 to a desireddirection, the highlight bar 401 can be moved on the display screen inthe manner as described above. Further, if the stick lever 601 isstructured as a push-button surrounded by the four-direction contactswitch, a depression of the stick lever 601 can have the same functionas the depression of the Enter key 104 for executing a selected name,with improved operation of the keypad.

The shape of the stick lever 601 may be determined by considering easyof use. If the stick lever 601 is button-shaped as shown in FIG. 7, auser can perform the selection and entering operation by just placing athumb, for example, on the upper surface of the stick lever 601. Thestick lever 601 is inclined to a desired direction to move the highlightbar 401, and, when reaching a desired name of a person to communicatewith or a desired menu item, the stick lever 601 is depressed with thethumb to execute the desired operation.

Referring to FIG. 8A, a substrate 602 has a plurality of contacts 603formed thereon and covered with a metal dome 604. None of the contacts603 normally makes contact with the metal dome 604. An actuator 605 isplaced on the top of the metal dome 604 within a housing 606 and iscoupled with the stick lever 601 through an opening 607 formed in thetop of the housing 606.

As shown in FIG. 8B, five contacts 701-705 are arranged on the substrate602. The center contact 701 is surrounded by other contacts 702-705,which are spaced uniformly. In this case, the respective contacts 702,703, 704 and 705 correspond to up, down, left and right directions. Thecenter contact 701 is provided for Enter operation.

When the stick lever 601 is inclined in the up direction, thecorresponding edge of the actuator 605 presses down the metal dome 604to put the metal dome 604 into contact with only the contact 702. Thiscauses the highlight bar 401 to move in the up direction. It is the samewith other contacts 703-705. When reaching a desired name of a person tocommunicate with or a desired menu item, the stick lever 601 isdepressed with the thumb. This causes the metal dome 604 to be presseddown at the center thereof to put it into contact with the centercontact 701 and thereby the desired operation is executed.

In this manner, it is possible to achieve equivalent functions of thearrow keys 103 and the Enter key 104 with only one stick lever 601.Therefore, such a control switch like a joystick contributes to improvedoperability and reduced size of the telephone.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the arrowkeys and the Enter key are disposed close to each other almost in oneintegration, it becomes possible to select and input necessary displayinformation with minimum move of a finger. Therefore, selection of adesired one from a plurality of display information items can befacilitated extremely without involving a trouble of finding keys.Similarly, selection of a desired one from various displayed functionscan be facilitated. The information entering is performed with a meredepressing of the Enter key disposed closely. Thus, according to thepresent invention, it becomes possible to improve substantially theoperability of a portable communication apparatus.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since it is alsopossible to achieve equivalent functions of the arrow keys and the Enterkey with only one stick lever, the stick lever can contribute to furtherimprove the operability and reduce the size of a portable communicationapparatus.

1. A portable communication apparatus, comprising: selection means forselecting a desired information item from a plurality of informationitems displayed in a plurality of rows and columns on a display means;execution means for executing the desired information item selected bythe selection means; and a second key section including a ten key pad,wherein the first key section and the second key section are providedclose to each other and are disposed immediately below the displaysection, wherein one of the information items is initially selected as afirst information item, wherein the selection means is operable toindicate a plurality of movement directions, wherein indicating a firstmovement direction with the selection means selects a first informationitem displayed in a row immediately preceding the row of the firstinformation item; wherein indicating a second movement direction withthe selection means selects a second information item displayed in acolumn immediately following the column of the first information item;wherein indicating a third movement direction with the selection meansselects a third information item displayed in a row immediatelyfollowing the row of the first information item; and wherein indicatinga fourth movement direction with the selection means selects a fourthinformation item displayed in a column immediately preceding the columnof the first information item.
 2. The portable communication apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein: if the selection means indicates a firstmovement direction and the row immediately preceding the row of thefirst information item does not exist, selecting a second informationitem displayed in a row furthest from and following the row of the firstinformation item; if the selection means indicates a second movementdirection and the column immediately following the column of the firstinformation item does not exist, selecting a third information itemdisplayed in a column furthest from and preceding the column of thefirst information item; if the selection means indicates a thirdmovement direction and the row immediately following the row of thefirst information item does not exist, selecting a fourth informationitem displayed in a row furthest from and preceding the row of the firstinformation item; and if the selection means indicates a fourth movementdirection and the column immediately preceding the column of the firstinformation item does not exist, selecting a fifth information itemdisplayed in a column furthest from and following the column of thefirst information item.
 3. The portable communication apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the execution means has a callingfunction.
 4. The portable communication apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the display means and the selection means are disposed on oneside of a housing of the portable communication apparatus.
 5. Theportable communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theselection means and the execution means are disposed with a space fromthe second key section.